Reader Recommendations

READER RECOMMENDATION: AMERICAN POP (1981)

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Reader recommendation by “Jackie”

DIRECTOR:

FEATURING: Ron Thompson, Lisa Jane Perksy, Jeffery Lippa

PLOT: Centering on a family of musicians from the 1910s to the 1980s, American Pop takes a psychedelic look at the history and evolution of American music whilst telling a story of its own.

Still from American Pop (1981)
WHY IT SHOULD MAKE THE LIST: American Pop contains many vivid and flashy surreal images. It’s like a trip through psychedelia that encompasses it’s plot and structure beyond measure.

COMMENTS: This film is important not only for its creativity, but it also has a unique take on American culture. Bakshi’s talent is at its peak with this film. His style is fluid and the film’s visuals are stunning.

WHAT THE CRITICS SAY:

“Bakshi… continues to push animation techniques to the outer limits more frequently explored by film makers who call themselves avant-garde, but who seldom are. His newest film, ‘American Pop,’ is a dazzling display of talent, nerve, ideas (old and new), passion and a marvelously free sensibility.“–Vincent Canby, The New York Times (contemporaneous)

Capsules

CAPSULE: VAMPYROS LESBOS (1971)

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Recommended

DIRECTED BY: (as Franco Manera)

FEATURING: , Ewa Strömberg, Dennis Price, , Andrea Montchal, Heidrun Kussin, Jess Franco

PLOT: Linda, a young woman representing a legal firm, travels to a remote island to settle the estate of a wealthy Countess. When Linda meets the countess she realizes it is the same woman who has appeared to her in a recurring erotic dream. The lovely Linda is quickly seduced by the sexy Countess, who not only thirsts for her body and blood but for her soul.

Strill from Vampyros Lesbos (1971)
WHY IT WON’T MAKE THE LIST: I suppose a legitimate argument could be made for the “weirdness” of Vampyros Lesbos, or just about any Jess Franco offering. Franco definitely walked to the beat of his own drum. The director borrows from classic literature and vampire mythos in general, and breaks all sorts of rules along the way. Breaking rules, however, does not equal weird. Even with its psychedelic visuals fully intact, there still does not exist a single image that I would qualify as “weird.” There were several lesbian-themed vampire films made during the period; despite Franco’s film being one of the first to get a theatrical release, I don’t think it was terribly shocking for the time. While Vampyros Lesbos is a beautiful and unique entry into the genre, it is not a film I would deem “weird”.

COMMENTS: I have viewed some forty plus films from director Jess Franco, and Vampyros Lesbos remains one of the most visually stunning in his oeuvre. The set pieces, particularly those found in the estate of the Countess, are eye candy of the highest order. The locations likewise add to the film’s visual appeal. The soundtrack is the film’s crowning glory and is without a doubt one of my favorites of all time. Vampyros Lesbos has a dreamlike and trippy vibe, and if you get lost in it the film it can transport you to another world. The beautiful, sexually-charged world of the Countess Carody is as enticing as it is hauntingly sad.

Symbolism is used throughout, specifically the image of a scorpion, a butterfly and a kite. It is too easy, in my opinion, to suggest that the scorpion represents the Countess and the butterfly trapped in the net is Linda. In my mind, both the scorpion and the butterfly represent the Countess. The Countess, delicate in feature and frame, is equal parts powerful, ancient, hungry, desperate, bewitching and manipulative. I see Linda as the kite: free, intelligent, strong, intrigued, tempted but not caught.

Who exactly is enticing whom in this tale is arguable. The strong-willed businesswoman versus the powerful, sexual Countess! Both lead actresses give a solid and memorable performance. The gorgeous Soledad Miranda had a powerful presence in everything she made an appearance in, but never more so than in Vampyros Lesbos. Though her dialogue is spare, Miranda speaks volumes with her expression. An immortal woman who has spent undetermined years Continue reading CAPSULE: VAMPYROS LESBOS (1971) →

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WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE

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Terri McSorley (AKA Goregirl) starts us off next week with her review of the cult favorite Vampyros Lesbos, while G. Smalley considers the under-the-radar surreal French boarding school fable Innocence (2004) and takes a second look at the sci-fi rock n’ roll musical flop The Apple (1980) (observant readers may notice that 366 has been revisiting a large number of List Candidates of late). We’ll also throw a short Reader Recommendation in there, plus, as usual, something (as-yet-undetermined) from Alfred Eaker.

Regular readers are tired of hearing us complain that we’re not seeing as many bizarro search terms as we used to, so we’re going to skip that very valid point this week and jump right into our survey of the Weirdest Search Terms of the Week contest. We’ll start out with one of those searches that is perfectly logical, but whose syntax accidentally creates a humorous new meaning: “uncle boonmee who can recall quotes.” (“Uncle Boonmee, tells us that one by Churchill again!”) We noticed a guy searching for “unusual sexy movie” and wondered if “the movie that have two girl step on sharp grass help.com” might possibly qualify. Our search for the Weirdest Search Term of the Week ended, however, when we saw “a messick in movie was a little girl and what a guys hands meat out of eyes,” which is like a two-for-one deal on incomprehensible phrases. Good job!

Here’s how the ridiculously-long reader-suggested review queue stands: Innocence (next week!); Society; The Fox Family; Angelus; Conspirators of Pleasure;  The Ninth Configuration; Love Me If You Dare; Continue reading WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE →

Miscellanea

WEIRD HORIZON FOR THE WEEK OF 6/19/2015

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Our weekly look at what’s weird in theaters, on hot-off-the-presses DVDs, and on more distant horizons…

Trailers of new release movies are generally available on the official site links.

IN THEATERS (LIMITED RELEASE):

The Tribe (2014): A graphically violent and sexually explicit Ukrainian film, with no dialogue, about students at a school for the deaf who run a prostitution ring. The director and lead actress (who is deaf) will be appearing at selected venues throughout the summer; check the Drafthouse website for details. The Tribe official site.

The Wanted 18 (2014): Documentary about a real incident in which the Israeli government declared 18 Palestinian cows “a threat to national security.” What makes it weird is that the doc is partly animated, and told from the perspective of the cows. The Wanted 18 official site.

SCREENINGS – (Cinefamily, Los Angeles, CA, Friday, 6/19/2015):

Journey Through the Past (1974): Very rare screening of this ultra-rare Neil Young docu-tasia mixing music video surrealism with vintage footage of the young Young. Tonight’s showing is the highlight of “Shakey Fest,” a weekend of Young concert films. Shakey Fest at Cinefamily.

SCREENINGS – (Alamo Drafthouse, Yonkers, NY, Sunday, 6/21/2015):

Blue Velvet (1986): Read the Certified Weird review! Not only is this one of ‘s scariest, cultiest, and most accessible classics, it’s being introduced by legendary drive-in film critic Joe Bob Briggs! (I don’t remember Blue Velvet playing in drive-ins in 1986, but it’s still an inspired pairing). Blue Velvet at Alamo Drafthouse.

SCREENINGS – (Max Linder Panorama, Paris, France, Thursday, 25/6/2015):

Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome (1954): The rarest screening of all is this week’s projection of ‘s pre-psychedelic freakout, shown for the first time since the 1958 World Fair in the “tryptich” (three-screen) format.  Wowsa! Here’s the official site (in French) and an English language article on the event.

NEW ON DVD:

200 Motels (1971): Read our review. ‘s psycho-delic film essay on rock n’ roll life on the road finally gets an official release, even if it is just a full-frame, extras-free DVD-R from MGM. Buy 200 Motels.

The Happiness Of The Katakuris (2001): See description in Blu-ray below. A special edition Blu-ray/DVD combo from the reliable Arrow Video. Buy The Happiness of the Katakuris [Blu-ray + DVD].

Spirited Away (2001): See description in Blu-ray below. Most, if not all, of the extra features will be found on the Blu-ray disc of this Blu/DVD combo. Buy Spirited Away [Blu-ray + DVD].

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

“André Gregory & Wallace Shawn: 3 Films”: Read our review of My Dinner with Andre and the Wallace Shawn interview. Criterion’s set includes the famous Dinner along with two Gregory play adaptations, Vanya on 42nd Street and A Master Builder. Buy “André Gregory & Wallace Shawn: 3 Films” [Blu-ray].

Blindness (2008)/Proof (2005): A pair of critically well-received but low profile movies released as a double feature. Blindness, the half of the bill of interest to us, is a fable about a town where (almost) everyone is suddenly struck blind; Proof is a drama about a math student who fears she may have inherited her brilliant father’s madness. Buy Blindness (2008)/Proof (2005) [Blu-ray].

The Happiness of the Katakuris (2001): A family decides to run a resort hotel in the mountains and encounters murder in this horror/musical (!) from the inimitable . The tagline describes it as The Sound of Music meets Dawn of the Dead. Buy The Happiness of the Katakuris [Blu-ray + DVD].

My Dinner with André (1981): Read our review. If you just want the most popular title in that Shawn/Gregory set, here’s Criterion’s new Blu-ray upgrade. Buy My Dinner with André [Blu-ray].

Spirited Away (2001): A girl finds her parents turned into pigs when her family investigates an abandoned amusement park haunted by spirits. This is one of the last of Disney’s Hayao Miyazaki catalog to get the Blu upgrade. Buy Spirited Away [Blu-ray + DVD].

What are you looking forward to? If you have any weird movie leads that I have overlooked, feel free to leave them in the COMMENTS section.

Celebrating the cinematically surreal, bizarre, cult, oddball, fantastique, strange, psychedelic, and the just plain WEIRD!